This is an incredibly good cake and perfect for a fall dinner--either special occasion or for your family. Why is it called Pear Doodle Cake? The dessert is a cross between a pear cake and snickerdoodle cookies, with the strongest leanings toward the cake side. The recipe produces a low-rising, very moist cake that's sweet but not excessively so, like many pear cakes. The secret is a bit of cream of tartar, which you often find in snickerdoodle cookies. Like the cookies, the cake also gets a dusting of cinnamon sugar as a topping. I tried the cake on a whim and because I needed to use up some pears that were nearing the tipping point of going bad, and I was surprised at just how good the cake tasted. If you don't have fresh pears, you can also used the canned version. They work fine. The pears give the cake a creamy sweetness, and the warm spices add interest. Try the cake warm, with ice cream. It's also great at room temperature, and I actually like it cold from the refrigerator--the cake is that good! Enjoy!
Pear Doodle Cake -- Makes an 8-inch square cake
1/2 cup of butter, softened almost to the melting point
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of chopped, peeled pears (fresh or canned pears, drained and chopped)
Topping
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass dish) and coat an 8-inch square pan or baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars and cream them together (I just use a wooden spoon, no need to haul out a mixer). Add the vanilla and egg and beat them in. Stir in the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt until everything is combined. Fold in the pears and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the batter out evenly. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with no wet batter clinging to it. Let the cake cool 10-15 minutes before serving it warm.
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